IMG’s PWR buy motivated by winter boom

IMG has spoken exclusively to Access about its recent acquisition of Winter Wonderland production company PWR Events

Sports, events, fashion and media company IMG acquired PWR Events in July, taking ownership of Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, which is produced for The Royal Parks, and the Hampton Court Palace Festival, produced for Historic Royal Palaces.

“We saw what PWR had done with Winter Wonderland, turning it into a must-attend, iconic event. The buy gives us the opportunity to work closely with Royal Parks, which is a real privilege. The event is already fantastic, but we have new ideas for it that are in the early stages still,” Flint Wood said.

Flint Wood went on to say that acquisitions are decided on a case-by-case basis, adding that he sees synergy with Winter Wonderland and the Natural History Museum ice rink project – also run by IMG – with the two helping diversify the company’s events portfolio.

Meanwhile, Access has learned that the management team and staff of PWR will continue in their roles, becoming part of the company’s events division that also operates Taste Festivals, including Taste of London at Regent’s Park.

Jamie Wells, director of PWR Events, said: “We are delighted to be working with IMG and excited at the prospect of what the two companies can achieve together.”

PWR Events has worked with The Royal Parks since 2007 to develop Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, which this year will be staged from 20 November 2015 to 3 January 2016.

Poll

London is teeming with great music venues - both established favourites and rising stars. For our poll for this week, we want to know: which of the venues below are your personal favourites? You may pick up to three: